Substance Abuse Treatment Facilities Provide Programs To Fit Clients

The vast majority of substance abuse treatment facilities are providing special programs tailored to such clients as adolescents, seniors, post-partum mothers and people with HIV/AIDS.

Nearly three-quarters of even the smallest facilities offered at least one special program or group.

The most commonly reported special program in the National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services in 2005 was for clients with co-occurring psychiatric and substance abuse disorders (38 percent). About one-third of the 13,371 facilities that responded to the annual survey of public and private facilities in the United States offered special programs for adult women (33 percent) or adolescents (32 percent).

"Treatment programs designed around the specific needs and concerns of women, teens, people with co-occurring disorders and others can help improve the outcome," said Terry Cline, Ph.D., SAMHSA Administrator. "To help individuals seeking treatment, SAMHSA offers an online Substance Abuse Treatment Facility Locator that allows users to search for facilities that are close to home, or individuals can call 1-800-662-HELP for telephone assistance."

About 83 percent of all responding facilities reported offering at least one special treatment program. The percentage was slightly higher (88 percent) for large facilities, which treat 120 or more clients, although 72 percent of facilities that treated fewer than 15 clients also offered a special program.

The special programs or groups reported in the survey varied by the type of care "hospital inpatient, outpatient and non-hospital residential "but programs for those with co-occurring disorders or for adult women were consistently among the most frequently reported.

Other special programs addressed the needs of those arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs or driving while intoxicated (31 percent), other criminal justice clients (28 percent), adult men (25 percent), pregnant or post-partum women (14 percent), people with HIV/AIDS (11 percent), seniors (7 percent) and gays/lesbians (6 percent).

While the type of organization running a facility "private non-profit group, private commercial group, or government entity "did not affect whether a special program would be offered, the primary treatment focus of a facility did. Those facilities that offered substance abuse and mental health services or solely substance abuse treatment were more likely than other facilities, at 87 percent and 83 percent respectively, to offer a special program. Less likely to offer a special program were general health care and mental health facilities.